Why the 1916 Decree means so much to Onset

Friday

Aug 22, 2014 at 1:16 PMAug 22, 2014 at 1:17 PM

To the people of Onset,We wish to thank the folks who took the time to attend our informational meeting held at the VFW on Aug. 14, our hard-working friends, and Nancy Miller of the Onset Protective League, who chaired the event. Because of our mutual cooperation, 55 people have signed up to become members of the OPL.The OPL is the organization that brought the people of Onset and the public, the 1916 Decree. At our meeting we explained how that came about and how important the Decree is to all of us. Since we can’t possibly review the entire meeting in this short space, we’d like to present two scenarios.With the 1916 Decree in place we have the following: Free use of all of the beaches in the village of Onset, an uninterrupted view of the water for all of those who live along the boulevards, free use of all of our parks where the public can sit on a hot afternoon and enjoy the cool breezes coming from the water, free use of the Onset Boat Ramp where one can begin a day of fishing or other boating pleasures, and if we’re correct, "free use" of the streets which we believe were also "dedicated" to all of us "forever." Because of the OPL and those far-sighted judges who sat on the bench of the Massachusetts Supreme Court way back in 1915, the people of Onset and the public have the free use of over 40 acres of parks, beaches and shorefronts.Without the 1916 Decree in place, the Onset Bay Grove Association, the original developers of Onset, would have continued in its pursuit to utilize the areas it had promised to the public as open space. There would be no free beaches and the only water views the folks along the boulevards would have would be through someone else’s windows. There would be no free use of our parks because they wouldn’t exist, no free boat ramp, no need to worry about paying for parking because most of us couldn’t afford to live here. Without the 1916 Decree, Onset would be like many other seaside communities, where private development has prevailed.Onset is a "developer’s dream." If anyone thinks the 1916 Decree is of no value, take the time to think about how little the people of Onset would have without it. As we stated in our flyer, "Know your rights of lose them!"Marilyn KnowltonMarie Strawn(Editor’s note: A follow-up Onset Protective League meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 28, at the Dudley Brown VFW at 7 p.m.)